Baltimore Police investigating alleged spitting incident [UPDATED]

UPDATE: Baltimore Police announced they suspended Sgt. Robert Mesner, the officer who allegedly spit on a suspect, after reviewing more video footage and interviewing witnesses. The department is conducting a criminal and internal investigation, police said.

Interim Police Commissioner Kevin Davis released the following statement: "Our internal investigation progressed rapidly today with the review of available video and interaction with witnesses. The video appears to depict the police sergeant spitting on the arrestee. That is outrageously unacceptable and it directly contradicts the necessary community relationships we are striving to rehabilitate. The police powers of Sergeant Robert Mesner are now suspended, and a criminal investigation is underway. Our entire community deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.

Mesner is a 34-year veteran of the department.

The Baltimore Police Department is investigating an incident in which an officer allegedly spit on a suspect being arrested.

A video of the arrest surfaced late last night on the Twitter account of activist Kwame Rose. Though the footage is dark, about five seconds in the video shows an officer standing over a handcuffed man on the ground and jerking his head downward, prompting a crowd of onlookers to start screaming, "He spit on him!"

T.J. Smith, director of the media relations section of the BPD, sent out a brief statement saying: "The Baltimore Police Department is aware of a video that has surfaced that purportedly shows a BPD officer spitting on a suspect.